REGEX(3C)               COMMAND REFERENCE               REGEX(3C)



NAME
     regex, re_comp, re_exec - regular expression handler

SYNOPSIS
     char *re_comp(s)
     char *s;

     re_exec(s)
     char *s;

DESCRIPTION
     Re_comp compiles a string into an internal form suitable for
     pattern matching.  Re_exec checks the argument string
     against the last string passed to re_comp.

     Re_comp returns 0 if the string s was compiled successfully;
     otherwise a string containing an error message is returned.
     If re_comp is passed 0 or a null string, it returns without
     changing the currently compiled regular expression.

     Re_exec returns 1 if the string s matches the last compiled
     regular expression, 0 if the string s failed to match the
     last compiled regular expression, and -1 if the compiled
     regular expression was invalid (indicating an internal
     error).

     The strings passed to both re_comp and re_exec may have
     trailing or embedded newline characters; they are terminated
     by nulls.  The regular expressions recognized are described
     in the manual entry for ed(1), given the above difference.

DIAGNOSTICS
     Re_exec
            returns -1 for an internal error.

     Re_comp
            returns one of the following strings if an error
            occurs:


                 No previous regular expression
                 Regular expression too long
                 unmatched \(
                 missing ]
                 too many \(\) pairs
                 unmatched \)

CAVEATS
     The string is considered to match the regular expression if
     a portion of the string matches.  Therefore, if the entire
     string must match, it must be enclosed by an caret (^) and
     $.



Printed 3/13/89                                                 1

REGEX(3C)               COMMAND REFERENCE               REGEX(3C)



SEE ALSO
     ed(1), ex(1), egrep(1), fgrep(1), and grep(1).





















































Printed 3/13/89                                                 2

%%index%%
na:288,104;
sy:392,547;
de:939,1643;
di:2582,820;
ca:3402,289;
se:4051,227;
%%index%%000000000109